Famous public house in Islington which was already almost 100 years old when the Soft Boys first played there in 1978, having first opened its doors in 1880. From Wikipedia: "During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock. With the decline of this movement, the pub went on to become a leading venue in the punk rock movement. It is a Grade II listed building." Robyn contributed 'Let There Be More Darkness' to a compilation released in 1984, "Don't Let the Hope Close Down," intended to save the pub - which was apparently successful, Hope and Anchor is still an operational pub and live music venue today, owned and operated by the Greene King brewing company.

Posted by Robyn on Facebook December 29, 2016:

The basement of the Hope & Anchor in Islington was the most coveted of the pub rock gigs in the late 1970s. Some acts never made it there. Some acts played there once or twice and springboarded to fame: U2, Elvis Costello, and The Police, for example. 'Police suck cock heavily' was emblazoned on the damp red dressing-room wall amid the tangled graffiti for several years. And some acts, such as we in The Soft Boys, made it to the Hope and never left it. A smoky cocoon where we always felt welcome and delivered our best shows. A mere 38 years ago, we cost 40 pence more than Joy Division for an evening as they, too, flashed by.